MT. HERMON — Katie Boone and Tessa Faucette have been at the heart of the Southern Alamance volleyball team for four years. As the Patriots reached the All Metro Conference Tournament championship, the duo knew what had to be done.

“We came a long way as freshmen,” Boone said. “We all came a long way and we all worked our butts off because we all wanted that one thing. We wanted that championship. I feel like this puts us in a good place for the state championship playoffs. I’m really proud of my team.”

Errors plagued the Patriots early in the first set as Southern Alamance (23-3) found itself on the wrong side of the score to start the match thanks to two service errors and an attack error. The deficit didn’t last long, though, as the Patriots went on a 5-1 run to take a slight lead, then another 8-2 run later to go up 14-10.

After trading points until the score was 16-16, the Patriots went on a 9-1 run to put the set out of reach even though Greensboro Grimsley coach Vedat Yuce used his second timeout of the set. The stoppage wasn’t enough to halt the Patriots’ momentum.

Three of Boone’s 12 kills came in the late stages of the first set to help put the Patriots out of reach down the stretch.

“When Katie is pumped, the whole team is pumped,” said Southern Alamance coach Missy Lineberry. “With the senior group I have, I can’t go wrong with them. They’re all part of this team and they all carry the team.”

To start the second set, the Whirlies (17-4) took a 5-2 lead that could’ve been much more commanding, but two service aces gave the Patriots their first two points to keep them in the match. After falling behind 7-4, a 17-4 run for the Patriots put Southern Alamance on top by a 21-11 margin. Greensboro Grimsley collected four straight points after the run, but it was far too late as Boone came up with two more kills to finish the set.

The Patriots jumped out to a lead to start the third set, something they hadn’t been able to do in the previous two sets. The Whirlies tried to fight back into the match, but the Patriots were too strong. Each time Greensboro Grimsley would win a point, Southern Alamance would take three or four in return to build a 23-8 edge. Three last-gasp points from the Whirlies pulled the set to 23-12, but the Patriots used two emphatic kills to end the match.

Page 2 of 2 - “The key for us is to play together, play smart,” Faucette said. “Since freshman year, these six seniors have worked together. We’ve been playing together for a really long time so it’s great to share this experience with this team. But we have to keep working. We’re not there yet.”

Along with her 12 kills, Boone also recorded seven blocks. D’Lainee Holman recorded five kills and four blocks. One of her five kills was the spike to cap the match. Carleigh Brooks tallied 14 digs.

Both teams will move onto the Class 4-A state playoffs beginning Saturday. Southern Alamance will play host to a first-round match, but the time and opponent are to be determined.

“It looks like we might have a wild card,” Lineberry said. “It’s like I told my girls, though. It’s like movies. We have parts. We had the first part, the first season, which was non-conference. Then we had the second season. This was Season 3 and starting Saturday is Season 4. So it’s like a whole new season.”

To Faucette, the opponent doesn’t matter. She, Boone and the rest of the team know it’s not up to who they play to dictate the outcome of the season.

“Our motto is, ‘Play together, play smart. One team, one heart.’ That’s what we have to stick with,” Faucette said. “We have to keep working hard. We have to keep playing together because we have great chemistry. We have to keep meshing and making sure everybody is on — blocks, hits, kills, serves —everything has to be on for us to win.”